--- title: "AWS CDK vs Chef: Which is searched more?" description: "Is AWS CDK or Chef more popular in search? Compare estimated monthly branded-search demand and Share of Search inside the Infrastructure as code tools set worldwide. Branded searches tell you how often people look for a brand by name or related terms. Comparing these searches across competitors helps you see how popular each brand is over time." canonical: "https://gobrandwave.com/demand/global-en/compare/aws-cdk-vs-chef" publisher: "Brandwave" --- # AWS CDK vs Chef: Which is searched more? Is AWS CDK or Chef more popular in search? Compare estimated monthly branded-search demand and Share of Search inside the Infrastructure as code tools set worldwide. Branded searches tell you how often people look for a brand by name or related terms. Comparing these searches across competitors helps you see how popular each brand is over time. ## Key facts - **Compared**: AWS CDK and Chef - **Competitive set**: Infrastructure as code tools - **Market**: Global - **Month measured**: Sep 2026 - **AWS CDK Share of Search**: 2.5% - **Chef Share of Search**: 0.07% ## Is AWS CDK or Chef more popular in search? - In September 2026, AWS CDK had more branded searches than Chef among infrastructure as code tools worldwide. AWS CDK had about 12,100 branded searches, while Chef had 320. AWS CDK made up 2.5% of all infrastructure as code tool searches we track, and Chef accounted for 0.07%. - AWS CDK was ahead of Chef in every measured month of the 12 months ending September 2026. - Across the 12 months ending September 2026, AWS CDK’s share of searches among infrastructure as code tools worldwide moved from 3.1% to 2.5%, and its estimated monthly branded searches moved from 18.1K to 12.1K. - Across the 12 months ending September 2026, Chef’s share of searches among infrastructure as code tools worldwide moved from 0.1% to 0.07%, and its estimated monthly branded searches moved from 590 to 320. ## Top infrastructure as code tools in ChatGPT and Google AI Overviews In three ChatGPT questions and two Google AI Overviews, AWS CDK was mentioned in four out of five: in all three ChatGPT answers and in one of the two Google AI Overviews. Chef was mentioned in two out of five: not in any of the three ChatGPT answers, but in both Google AI Overviews. AWS CDK was listed before Chef in four out of five answers. Brands get a higher AI rank if they are mentioned earlier in the answers that list options. | Brand | AI rank | ChatGPT answers that named it | Google AI Overviews that named it | All answers that named it | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | OpenTofu | 1st | 3 of 3 | 2 of 2 | 5 of 5 | | Terraform | 2nd | 3 of 3 | 2 of 2 | 5 of 5 | | Pulumi | 3rd | 3 of 3 | 2 of 2 | 5 of 5 | | AWS CloudFormation | 4th | 3 of 3 | 2 of 2 | 5 of 5 | | AWS CDK | 5th | 3 of 3 | 1 of 2 | 4 of 5 | | Ansible | 6th | 2 of 3 | 2 of 2 | 4 of 5 | | Crossplane | 7th | 1 of 3 | 1 of 2 | 2 of 5 | | Azure Bicep | 8th | 2 of 3 | 0 of 2 | 2 of 5 | | Puppet | 9th | 0 of 3 | 2 of 2 | 2 of 5 | | Chef | 10th | 0 of 3 | 2 of 2 | 2 of 5 | ## Every AI answer about infrastructure as code tools - Asked ChatGPT "Which infrastructure as code tool should I use?": 1. OpenTofu, 2. Pulumi, 3. AWS CloudFormation, 4. Ansible, 5. Terraform, 6. AWS CDK - Asked ChatGPT "What are the best infrastructure as code tools?": 1. Terraform, 2. OpenTofu, 3. Pulumi, 4. AWS CDK, 5. AWS CloudFormation, 6. Azure Bicep, 7. Crossplane, 8. Ansible - Asked ChatGPT "What's the best infrastructure as code tool for automated cloud setup?": 1. Terraform, 2. OpenTofu, 3. Pulumi, 4. AWS CloudFormation, 5. AWS CDK, 6. Azure Bicep - Searched Google, AI Overview "infrastructure as code tools": 1. Terraform, 2. OpenTofu, 3. Pulumi, 4. AWS CloudFormation, 5. AWS CDK, 6. Crossplane, 7. Ansible, 8. Puppet, 9. Chef - Searched Google, AI Overview "iac tool": 1. Terraform, 2. OpenTofu, 3. Pulumi, 4. AWS CloudFormation, 5. Ansible, 6. Puppet, 7. Chef Brands are listed in the order each answer named them. The answers were collected in the United States on October 21, 2026. ## How did search popularity change for infrastructure as code tools worldwide in September 2026? - Estimated monthly branded searches for Chef worldwide fell 45.8% over 12 measured months, from 590 to 320 in September 2026. - Estimated monthly branded searches for AWS CDK worldwide fell 33.1% over 12 measured months, from 18.1K to 12.1K in September 2026. ## Month by month | Month | AWS CDK estimated searches | AWS CDK Share of Search | AWS CDK rank | Chef estimated searches | Chef Share of Search | Chef rank | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Oct 2025 | 18.1K | 3.1% | 5 | 590 | 0.1% | 9 | | Nov 2025 | 18.1K | 3.6% | 5 | 880 | 0.17% | 9 | | Dec 2025 | 14.8K | 3% | 6 | 590 | 0.12% | 9 | | Jan 2026 | 18.1K | 3.6% | 5 | 480 | 0.1% | 9 | | Feb 2026 | 14.8K | 3% | 6 | 590 | 0.12% | 9 | | Mar 2026 | 18.1K | 3.1% | 6 | 590 | 0.1% | 9 | | Apr 2026 | 14.8K | 3% | 6 | 390 | 0.08% | 9 | | May 2026 | 14.8K | 3% | 6 | 390 | 0.08% | 9 | | Jun 2026 | 14.8K | 3% | 6 | 260 | 0.05% | 10 | | Jul 2026 | 12.1K | 2.6% | 6 | 260 | 0.06% | 10 | | Aug 2026 | 12.1K | 2.9% | 6 | 320 | 0.08% | 9 | | Sep 2026 | 12.1K | 2.5% | 6 | 320 | 0.07% | 9 | ## How each brand is measured Brandwave collects information about searches that people make online using AWS CDK’s and Chef’s names. When viewed over time, estimated search volumes for these branded terms can be used to understand whether interest in the brands is growing, holding steady, or fading. - **AWS CDK**: Measured on the search term “aws cdk”. - **Chef**: Measured on the search term “chef devops”. - [AWS CDK profile](/demand/global-en/brands/aws-cdk) - [Chef profile](/demand/global-en/brands/chef) - [All infrastructure as code tools worldwide](/demand/global-en/categories/infrastructure-as-code-tools): The set both shares are measured inside, 10 brands. ## Methodology - [How is the Brand Demand Index measured?](/demand/methodology): Where the figures come from, what they compare, and how they may be reused. ## Frequently asked questions ### Is AWS CDK or Chef more popular in search? In September 2026, AWS CDK had more branded searches than Chef among infrastructure as code tools worldwide. AWS CDK had about 12,100 branded searches, while Chef had 320. AWS CDK made up 2.5% of all infrastructure as code tool searches we track, and Chef accounted for 0.07%. ## Cite this page Brandwave. "AWS CDK vs Chef: Which is searched more?". https://gobrandwave.com/demand/global-en/compare/aws-cdk-vs-chef This page is also available as HTML at https://gobrandwave.com/demand/global-en/compare/aws-cdk-vs-chef. Brandwave publishes an index of its Markdown pages at https://gobrandwave.com/llms.txt.